


Survival

by Akirachan252



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2018-06-08 17:22:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6866032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akirachan252/pseuds/Akirachan252
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Lee Jihoon, a high school student from an infamous part of Seoul, was transferred to Pledis Academy, a school for the country's elites. Everything was fine until  he comes across one of the school's most famous students, Kwon Soonyoung. His life gets turned upside down as he tries to escape the past he left behind, the present that's been tormenting him, and the future he doesn't want to have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to Pledis Academy

**Author's Note:**

> Hello... it's me. *gets bricked*  
> I was wondering if af— *gets thrown off cliff*
> 
> *climbs back up*
> 
> Okay no more Adele. Fine.
> 
> Hey guys! I'm Akirachan and I'm new here. I'm originally from aff (like everyone else here) and I wanted to try Ao3 bc most people say that it's better.
> 
> Anyways,
> 
> Welcome to my first Seventeen fanfiction, Survival! *throws confetti*
> 
> Before we start here are a few bits i'd like to let out (no not those kinds of bits):
> 
> This work is cross-posted on asianfanfics.com (Title: Survival ; Author: Akirachan)  
> I don't own Seventeen. (I'd love to buy them from Pledis but they'll be sad.)  
> English is not my first language. So expect errors.  
> I can count the number of stories I've written with my hands, so I'm pretty much a noob. so, please don't expect too much.
> 
> And on that note,
> 
> I hope you enjoy this piece of shit writing. *hides*
> 
> Ciao,
> 
> -Akira ♥

Trees…

Trees…

 

More trees—Wait, was that a deer just now? Am I still in Seoul? What the fuck is a deer doing in a forest the middle of Seoul? What is THIS FOREST doing in Seoul? Jihoon asks himself as the car makes its way through the smoothly paved road.

Lee Jihoon finds himself in a car, loaded with all their belongings, in a middle of a forest, somewhere in Seoul. And he is currently a nervous wreck.

One week ago, his brother told him that they were moving out. It wasn’t really shocking news considering how often his brother transfers when he switches jobs. But this time, he actually didn’t want to leave. It’s not that he loved his old house; no, their old place was a dump in a shady part of the city, with shadier people around it. But he still didn’t want to go because where they were moving to was worse; they were going to move into an elite school.

Jihoon grew up believing elites were in a different league from him. Growing up without any luxuries and in neighborhoods that doesn’t exactly scream “rich” made him look at elites as untouchables. Not that he’d want to become one because he loathes that lavish lifestyle.

It was also because he was scared of them, to say the least.

From what he’s experienced, they tend to act like thugs. They do what they want; just because they just feel like it; just because they can. They have the power to destroy other people’s lives with a single phone call or a snap of a finger. They discriminate people that cannot afford the same luxuries that they have, and they never let you forget about it.

Simply put, they’re neighborhood thugs on luxury cars and designer clothes.

Right now, Lee Jihoon is in a car in the middle of a forest in Seoul going to where all those thugs congregate. He sighs.

“Are you sure we’re still in Seoul? I don’t think this much tree could fit in the city.” He asks his brother as they were driving in a seemingly endless road littered with trees and wildlife.

“Have faith my little brother, we’re just about there.” His brother cheerily said while the younger’s temper spiked with the mention of his height. “Did you just call me short?”

“Little as in younger. Jeez. This is why you should go to school more.” His brother said. “and this school is perfect.”

Lee Jihoon is a late transfer student from the city. He transferred schools because his brother, Lee Donghae, was offered a new job as a history professor in an elite high school; and as part of the deal; his younger brother gets to study for free.

“I could’ve stayed at my old school, you know.” Jihoon suggested. He didn’t really want to stay in his old school but he’d rather stick it out there. He and his brother were no elites and they’ll get eaten alive the moment they step foot in that school.

“And break my promise I made to our dear late loving parents? No fucking way, little one” The older dramatically says and Jihoon’s ear twitches at the mention of the forbidden word.

He hates it when his brother mentions their parents. He instantly loses. He sighs once more.

The Lee siblings lost their parents to an accident when Jihoon was a child. Donghae, not wanting to give up his brother, took responsibility and raised him by himself while studying in college. Eight years have since passed and Jihoon is now in high school and Donghae has become a teacher.

“Besides, working here means you’d get free education and we’d be near each other all the time. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone! Isn’t that great?” his brother says excitedly.

“Yeah. Great.” Jihoon deadpans. “Just don’t tell anyone we’re related. It’s embarrassing.”

“Fine. Suit yourself. But wouldn’t you want everyone to know that you’re related to this...” His brother says as he points to his face. “… amazing piece of brain and brawn?”

“No. Not really.” Jihoon once again deadpans

“Fine. Be that way.” He responds as he clutches his chest in mock dramatic hurt.

“WATCH OUT THERES A CLIFF!!!” Jihoon screams and his brother makes a sharp turn. “Goddamnit keep your hands on the wheel, hyung.” Jihoon says as he tries to calm his rapidly beating heart. 

“Sorry. I forgot about that turn. Anyways, here we are.” Announces Donghae and it takes a moment for the younger’s brain to process what was in front of him.

The car was now on a bridge above a vast expanse of water going towards an island. From what he could see, the island is surrounded by white beaches and a nearby port with a few yachts parked on the side. But the most noticeable part of the island was a castle that could rival the world’s most beautiful palaces. Said castle school was surrounded by, yes, more trees. Approaching the gargantuan structure, he could see the road ending with a huge guarded gate.

“Welcome to Pledis Academy, little brother.” And Jihoon couldn’t do anything but gawk at the lavishness of the whole place.

“Ugh. My head hurts.” he says as he massages his temples.

The guard bowed to the pair after Donghae presented his Employee I.D., “Good morning, Professor Lee”. He greets them as the gates slide out of the way “The faculty is expecting you. Please proceed to the hall of professors for your briefing.”

“Got it. Thanks, mister.” He smiles as he drives through.

“Heard that, Jihoon? Professor Lee. I wish mom and dad were here to see this.” He said proudly but with a tinge of sadness.

“Of course they’re seeing this. They’re always watching out for us.” Jihoon smiled proudly at his brother. It still didn’t take away the fact that Jihoon was a ball of nerves as the car circled the main building.

But at the same time, a part of him was pretty excited.

“Maybe this won’t be half as bad” he thinks to himself, looking at the peaceful scenery unfolding in front of him.

“I’m going to drop you off in front of the dorms, okay.” Donghae tells Jihoon as he pulls up the front of the building. “I have a meeting to go to.”

“Well, fuck.” Jihoon sighs; already imagining the carnage that was going to take place.

Donghae drops the younger off in front of the dormitories and drives off to his meeting. “I’ll call you later, okay?” Jihoon gulped as he looked at his ‘dormitory’ from top to bottom.

The dormitory looks less like a castle but rather a high rise mansion. The walls were white with full sized windows all of which is supported with ivory columns. It was fronted by a garden with well trimmed hedges filled with flowers of various vibrant colors.

“Dorm? this place looks like a fucking mansion” he looks at the building once more. 

“Yeah, whatever.” He says as he pulls out his luggage from the trunk and makes his way to the dormitory where he was met with a man in his forties wearing a vest, slacks, and dress shoes.

“Lee Jihoon-sshi? I presume. I am Mr. Choi, the head butler of this dormitory.” Jihoon couldn’t believe his eyes.

“This place has an actual butler?! Wow. Talk about excessive.”

The butler coughs to get the younger’s attention “I am here to take care of your luggage and serve as your guide for today.” The butler says as he starts to take Jihoon’s luggage.

“No no. it’s okay, I can carry my own luggage.” He says, taking back the suitcase from the butler. “But can you please help me get to my room?” 

“hmmm… interesting.” the butler raises an eyebrow at this gesture from the younger.

Just like the outside, the interior of the dorm was no joke either. Fully carpeted and designed like a high class hotel, each step he took made him feel smaller and smaller than he already was. Another eerie thing was there was no student in sight. Considering it was a weekend. He was snapped out of his thoughts with another cough from the butler.

“This will be your room for the remainder of the year. It seems your roommate is not around yet. You’ll meet him soon.”

Jihoon expected as much from what the outside of the dorm looked like; his room would be equally as lavished. But he still couldn’t get used to the thought of living out the whole rich lifestyle for the next few years. He just stood there at the doorway, staring at everything and nothing at the same time.

“If you have any questions, feel free to ring up the butler’s quarters using the phone on your bedside table.” The butler bows before taking his leave.

“Are you sure that this room is mine?” Jihoon asked.

“Of course, young master.” The butler courteously replied “do you not find it satisfactory?”

“No, I just think that this is too much. But thank you.” He steps inside his room and drags his luggage inside. Suddenly remembering, he hurriedly runs out of the rooms and catches up with the butler.

“Ajhussi!” The butler stopped in his tracks, surprised at the call.

“Drop the young master. Call me Jihoon next time.” He brightly grins at the older.

“Noted, Jihoon-sshi” the butler smiles back.

“What an interesting young man” the butler says to himself as he loosens his tie and removes his vest.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully. After the meeting, the brothers were oriented on the house rules of the school, toured around by another faculty member, and had dinner in the faculty lounge.

“So, you must’ve been wondering why there were no students.” The teacher, Kim Kibum, asked Jihoon as if he was reading the younger’s mind.

“I don’t really mind. But it’s kind of weird since there were classes tomorrow” He remarks as he eats his dinner.

“That’s because everyone is on a school trip to Paris. The flight back was delayed for a bit but they’ll be coming back later or early tomorrow.” The teacher told offhandedly.

“So you didn’t get to meet anyone?” His brother asked.

“I did. I met the butler, Mr. Choi.” He smiled. And the teacher made a weird look.

“Mr. Choi, huh. Well at least you weren’t alone.” Kibum says with a knowing smile. The three finish their dinner and leave the lounge to prepare for the next day. 

“So, Tomorrow is when the real battle starts.” Jihoon says to himself as he was walking back to his dormitory.

For the first time in a long while, he actually woke up earlier than his alarm clock, his too-bright phone screen showing an ungodly 05:07AM. He looked outside the window expecting to see an amazing view of the sun rising but was met with an unnerving sight. Hordes of cars were piling up in front of the dormitory. Headlights and brake lights combining to form what looks like a sea of fire. He also noticed students coming into the building. At the same time he hears the corridors coming to life with sounds of footsteps, mild chatter, and luggage being pulled.

His battle has certainly begun.

He was nervous wreck. More than what he was yesterday just because he saw a lot of people that morning. Checking for the last time if his brown locks were behaving, and checking if the corridor was clear for the nth time, Jihoon silently made his way to the school. Hiding in the trees once he hears people, he swiftly traversed the path going to the main building of the academy where he proceeded to the faculty room to look for the first period teacher.

“Jihoon-ah! You’ll do great out there. Make me proud!” Donghae fixed the younger’s tie and gave him a bear hug after.

“Hyung-a— Stop! You’re ruining my clothes.” He tries to get away from the vise grip that was his brother and smacks him on the shoulder.

“I’ll stay quiet today. Promise. See you later.” He smiles as his teacher accompanies him to the classroom.

Jihoon could hear his heart pounding as they reach the doors of the classroom. His teacher gives him a reassuring pat on the shoulder to calm him down.

“Relax, you’ll do great.” The teacher smiles. But it doesn’t work one bit. He opens the door and in less than two seconds, all his worries come to life as he trips on his way inside.

“Amazing, Lee Jihoon. Fucking amazing.”

His days as a student of the prestigious Pledis Academy have officially begun.


	2. First Impressions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Just a heads up, the reason I can update quickly (yes, updates a week apart are quick for me) is because i already have the chapters written down. Once I upload all my written chapters, updates will become painfully slow. I wish you do not brick me for being really REALLY slow.
> 
> And on that note,
> 
> I hope you enjoy chapter 2.
> 
> Ciao,
> 
> -Akira ♥

It seemed like everything went into slow motion as he fell. He saw the reaction of everyone in the front row in deafening silence. He didn’t know how long he stayed on the floor but it wasn’t long before Jihoon heard giggles coming from the class, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” He panicked.

Trying to keep his composure despite the embarrassment, he took a deep breath, quickly got up, and dusted himself off. With a still furiously beating heart, he introduced himself.

“Good Morning, I am Lee Jihoon. Nice to meet you all.” he bows then flashes his signature smile.

Jihoon felt self-conscious when the whole class once again went silent as he finished his introduction. He could feel eyes following him as he was making his way to the vacant seats near the back of the room.

He has never felt so judged his whole life.

His first class consisted of him struggling to copy notes from the blackboard due to his height, and the occasional eye contact and giggle he got from the students whenever he became too self-conscious. It stayed that way until the end of the class and Jihoon took a mental note to ask for a seat in front next time.

It was now lunch and almost everyone has gone to the cafeteria. But something has been bothering him ever since classes started. Aside from the short glances he’s been getting from his classmates, he felt two pairs of eyes who were boring holes at his head. Whenever he turned to where the feeling came from, he was met with a pair of cold, midnight black, piercing eyes. It bothered him enough that he stopped taking notes altogether and just listened to the ramblings of the teachers while wishing for the staring to stop.

“You can both stop staring now.” He said turning to the culprits

“Sorry.” The student apologizes and Jihoon shivers at how deep the voice was. “It’s just that it’s been a while since we saw a new face.”

“Well, that depends if they get plastic surgery but yeah, you get his point.” A gentler voice chimed in from behind him.

“I’m Wonwoo. Jeon Wonwoo” the student in his right holds out his hand.

“And I’m Hong Jisoo. But you can call me Joshua if you like.” The student from behind said.

“Lee Jihoon.” He smiles as he shakes the offered hand.

“Yeah, we heard. Want to grab lunch?” Wonwoo smiles back.

And just like that, Jihoon found his first friends.

It didn’t take long for Jihoon to discover that Wonwoo was the complete opposite of his first impression. Despite giving off a cold emo vibe and having the looks and the height to become a model, Jeon Wonwoo had a homebody kind of feeling. Like the kind of person who’d be content with spending the night with a good movie or book. The intense gaze turns out to be his default mode and the serious looking boy was actually all smiles when relaxed.

Hong Jisoo, on the other hand, was a mystery. From the short time he’s met the older boy; it was easy to say that he gives off a rather princely feeling. He was as calm and gentle as a prince or like a bigger brother that you can depend on. It was unnerving for him, to say the least, because people who’re THAT perfect were only found on badly written fan fiction.

The three arrived at the cafeteria and Jihoon wasn’t sure if the place was qualified to be called one. Instead of the usual counter filled with trays upon trays of food, restaurant counters and stalls of different themes were lined up next to each other. It looked more like a food court from a mall than a school cafeteria. Though he already expected it, but he just wasn’t sure if his budget could take that much of a beating. He sighed for the nth time that day and lunch wasn’t even over yet.

The three took time to choose what they wanted, Jihoon opting for a sandwich while the other two went for Italian. Searching for a vacant table proved to be easy with Jisoo’s power of persuasion and Jihoon was starting to believe that the older boy was in fact abnormally perfect.

“I hope this won’t sound weird but, can I get your data?” Wonwoo asks as he pulls out a laptop from his school bag.

“And there he goes.” Jisoo remarks as he was eating his lunch.

“No, that definitely doesn’t sound weird, or stalker-ish at all.” Jihoon deadpans as he was eating his lunch.

“So, I’ll take that as a yes then?” the taller boy asks expectantly.

“Fine. But I get to pass.” Jihoon surrenders with an eyeroll.

“You can, but it won’t matter. He’s going to find it out eventually.” Jisoo chuckles. 

“Deal. Now, let’s start.” Woonwoo took a deep breath and started.

“Full Name”

“Lee ji Hoon”

“Birthdate”

“22 November 1996”

The questions were basic. Mostly the kind you see in student files. Jihoon answered every question and was returned with a slight nod and a hum of approval from Wonwoo. Jisoo, on the other hand, continued with his lunch, smiling at the exchange between the two.

After several questions, a taboo topic came up. 

“Height?”

And Wonwoo was met with a raised eyebrow from Jihoon.

“Pass.”

“Why?” the taller asked.

“I don’t like talking about it.” His voice sounding clipped.

“Hmm… Interesting.” Jisoo comments and Wonwoo moves on to the next question.

“Weight”

“54 kilos”

“Preference”

“Guys” Jihoon answers without batting an eyelash.

“So, you’d answer that question in a heartbeat, but not say anything about your height?” Wonwoo raises an eyebrow. Jisoo chuckles.

“Yes.” Jihoon answers and Wonwoo doesn’t prod further. The questions were being thrown one after the other and his list was down to a few.

“Clothes Size”

“Medium. But I like wearing large clothes”

“Shoe Size”

“260”

“Pants size”

“30. What is this for, again?” Jihoon asks.

“database.” Wonwoo answers almost robotically as he was looking over what he typed.

“Wow, you’re such a geek.” The younger replies.

“and we’re done.” Wonwoo smiles as he shuts close his laptop and finally eats his lunch.

“So you do that to everyone you meet?” He asked after Wonwoo was done with his lunch.

“Pass. Let’s go, we’re going to be late.” The taller boy chuckles and gets ready to leave for their afternoon class.

Jisoo went back to his locker to pick up his books while the two were left talking as they went through the student packed hallway. To Wonwoo’s surprise, Jihoon suddenly disappeared from his side. Turning back, he found a familiar blonde head and a crowd forming.

“Sorry, my bad. But you should’ve looked at where you were going.” Said the blonde as he was offering a hand to help.

“A simple sorry would’ve been enough.” Jihoon stood up by himself, choosing to ignore the help. It was the second time that day that he fell in front of a crowd and he’s starting to get annoyed with it, and the pompous tone of the unfamiliar student in front of him was not making things better.

“Oh. No wonder I didn’t see you. You were so short.”

Jihoon snapped.

Height has always been a taboo matter to him. It was the one thing that he’s always been insecure about; and right now, He wanted to just pounce on the boy in front of him but stopped himself because it wouldn’t look too good if he was sent to the office on his first day. Instead, he just smiled brightly and dusted himself off but surprised everyone when he reached out and pulled the taller boy by the collar. 

“I don’t know who you are but you should NEVER pick on anyone’s height especially on your first meeting. Got it?” Jihoon warned with a sickly sweet voice and eyes just mere slits because of his smile. 

The growing crowd was silently watching the event unfold before them. Some were already texting their friends about the incident and some were glued to the spot because of the tension. The blonde shoved off Jihoon’s hand, and was going to return the threat with a punch when a familiar deep voice from the crowd got both their attentions.

“Soonyoung. You should’ve just apologized.” Wonwoo told him.

“Stay out of this, Wonwoo.” Soonyoung warned.

“You know I won’t. Not with him involved.” Wonwoo points to the smaller student beside him.

“What? You two are a thing now?” Soonyoung eyed Jihoon from head to toe. Wonwoo just chuckled.

“And are you jealous enough that you’d throw a temper tantrum?” Wonwoo retorted and Jihoon was starting to feel like he was in a middle of a lover’s spat.

“He started it.” The blonde points at Jihoon who was shock and willed himself to not blush an embarrassing shade of scarlet.

“Ah, the blaming game. So this is what happens when you hang out too much with… children.” Wonwoo said directing his attention to the three freshmen behind Soonyoung.

“Hey, watch yourself. I’m older than you.” Soonyoung was starting to sound mad.

“By a month, Soonyoung. Get over yourself.” Wonwoo fired back.

“At least I’m not a loner like you.” Soonyoung retorted.

“I’d rather be alone than be with you right now, babe.” Wonwoo raises an eyebrow and gives a smug smile. “Let’s go, Jihoon. We’re going to be late.” He drags off the younger through the crowd.

“Hey shorty, we’re not done yet.” The blonde shouted.

Jihoon heard the warning and his grip around Wonwoo’s hand tightened to the point that he heard the older wince in pain. Opting to just get away from the commotion, he instead put up his free hand, complete with a raised middle finger. 

“Sorry about him. He’s usually okay.” Wonwoo apologizes as they reached their classroom. Jihoon considerably cooling down.

“Who was that? It sounded you two knew each other.” Jihoon asks. The follow up was an understatement. From what he heard earlier, the two obviously sounded like they went way back.

“That was Kwon Soonyoung. And yes, we’re friends.” Wonwoo answers fondly.

“were friends, at least.” He adds, voice tinged with sadness.

“Just friends?” Jihoon asks back; refusing to believe that the scene back then was between just friends. 

“Ah. We’re nothing like that; just good friends.” Wonwoo says with a chuckle. He was going to ask more questions but was interrupted when Jisoo entered the room with a big smile plastered in his face.

“I heard about what happened earlier.” He gives Wonwoo a comforting pat at the back and looks at Jihoon.

“You!” Jisoo points at the younger “Good job out there.” He flashes him a smile and a thumbs up.

That fueled Jihoon’s curiosity even more. Though his questions were put on hold when the teacher came in and started classes.

Classes for the day ended uneventfully. Jihoon wanted to continue asking about Soonyoung but was again denied when the two instead promised to tell him everything over dinner. He returns to his room with his mind filled with thoughts about the obnoxious blonde boy.

Upon entering the room, he immediately saw the luggage around the once vacant bed. But, to no avail, found his roommate. With a shrug, he goes ahead to the bathroom and washes up before going to dinner. Jihoon found himself smiling because he was excited at meeting his new roommate, hoping that he’d be as kind or as friendly as Wonwoo or Jisoo. But he was worried because there was an equal chance that his new roommate might be as bad as the blonde boy from earlier.

He finished washing off and was about to come out of the bathroom when he heard the door click, which meant that his new roommate has arrived. He wrapped a towel around his waist and practiced his smile in front of the mirror for a few seconds, hoping to make a good impression.

His heart stopped when he opened the bathroom door to meet a bulging pair of eyes from a familiar blonde haired boy.

“You.” Kwon Soonyoung said, soft enough that it was almost a whisper.

“You are one unlucky bitch, Lee Jihoon.” He thought as he sighed for the nth time that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to disturb me here or at my tumblr account - yoongjihoon


	3. Flashback

Both males stood still rooted on the spot, watching and waiting on the other’s move. Jihoon was questioning if he was just blessed with unbelievably bad luck or if the universe was really out to get him. The other boy, Soonyoung, was still staring, mouth slightly agape. Jihoon then remembered his current state of undress and immediately got back to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Possible scenarios played in his head and he wanted to bang his head to the wall because all of them involved him confronting the taller boy with nothing but a towel and sheer willpower holding everything together.

He still couldn’t believe that out of all the people in the school, he had to be roommates with the blonde.

Ah, fuck it.

With all the confidence he could muster, Jihoon swung the door open to find Soonyoung sitting in his bed staring at him with a playful smirk. He returned fire with a smug smile as he removed his towel and nonchalantly dressed himself, trying not to give any mind to the blatant stare boring holes at him while willing himself to not show even the slightest bit of being affected.

But he was fighting a losing battle because even he could feel the warm blush creeping from his neck to his cheeks.

“Hey” Soonyoung was the first to talk, his voice sounded amused.

Jihoon didn’t want to deal with the taller boy right now because he didn’t want to do something that he’d regret later. He just wanted to get out of the room without any casualty.

“Hey shorty, remember me?” the boy sitting in the bed said, louder.

The provocation, clearly intended, made the irritation he felt from that afternoon’s encounter come back in an instant. He was now having an internal debate on whether or not he’s going to just let it go or answer and leave everything up to chance.

“Hello? Can anyone hear me from down there?”

Jihoon started to see red.

“What do you want?” Jihoon said with a clipped tone.

“Ah! He talks.” Soonyoung happily said, clapping his hands together. “You’re that kid with Wonwoo from earlier, right?”

There was something in the taller boy talked that annoyed Jihoon. Normally he’d just ignore anyone that ticks him off but somehow he couldn’t help but answer back.

“Yeah.” 

“Are you a freshman?” He asked.

“I’m in Wonwoo’s class.” Jihoon was limiting his response to single sentences because he might not be able to stop himself from assaulting the boy in front of him.

“Really? But you’re so short I thought you were a freshman.” Soonyoung said, chuckling. Jihoon was clenching his hands into fists. 

“Are you his boyfriend?” Soonyoung prodded further. 

“Why do you ask? Jealous, perhaps?” he retorted with smug smile and a raised eyebrow. 

“Hmm… Nope. Not really.” He said, shaking his head. “It’s just that last time I checked he didn’t like shorties.” He added.

His patience was wearing thinner with every exchange. He’s always associated being small with weakness, and he hated being weak. That’s why he really didn’t like anyone pointing out his height. He tried to calm himself enough for him to leave the room without murdering anyone but the smug tone of the other was getting to him.

“You don’t look rich either. I wonder what he saw in you.” Soonyoung said, thinking out loud.

“Say, what do— umph”

Soonyoung wasn’t able to finish what he was going to say due to the rucksack that hit him square in the face; followed by a slam of the door. Jihoon was gone.

Taking the nearest turn he leaned against the wall, his heart was thundering in his chest in rage. He knew that this place was going be hell but he never expected that it wouldn’t even take a week for him to want to punch someone’s face in so badly. He tries to calm himself but he still feels the blood rushing to his face. He took deep breaths and lightly smacked his face to calm down but the conversation from earlier sent his blood pressure soaring.

‘Cocky annoying piece of shit’ He ranted to himself, stomping through the carpeted hall hoping to calm down when he reaches the cafeteria. He suddenly remembered how things were when he was in middle school.

 

“Hyung, I don’t need to go to school. I can work just like you.” A young Jihoon said out loud as he was brushing his teeth in the kitchen one morning. His brother, busy preparing breakfast, chuckled and patted the younger’s head.

He handed over a bowl of rice to Jihoon and proceeded with his own breakfast which consisted of a cup of coffee on one hand and a textbook on the other. “Think about work after you graduate college. Let hyung do the work and just concentrate on studying hard.”

The death of their parents forced the two to grow up quickly. Donghae, not wanting to separate from Jihoon, became his guardian and only family member left. Financial assistance was great but Donghae still had to work while studying to make ends meet. 

“Okay class, before we begin let’s welcome our new student.” The first period teacher announces while Jihoon was waiting outside the classroom. He opened the door and saw rows of students curiously looking at him.

“Good Morning. My name is Lee Jihoon.” He widely grins as he introduced himself.

The first day was awkward. Everyone stared at him like a shiny new toy but no one made the first move, so he smiled and said hi to everyone, and they smiled back. The first few months were fun. He became more comfortable. He got good grades, he made friends, and he did things like a normal student.

But a few unanswered questions, nosey students, and gossiping teachers later, the death of his parents slowly spread through the school. He didn’t particularly mind because he knows that it wasn’t his fault in the first place. But the nasty rumors spread like wildfire and he didn’t even notice until it was already too late.

He enters the classroom one morning and he instantly felt something was off. As soon as he slid open the classroom doors, the normally lively chatter of the students was immediately replaced with hushed tones. It feels like the room suddenly turned cold. He tried shaking off the eerie vibe but the feeling of everyone staring at him was becoming too much. He tries to ask his seatmate but he interrupts.

“Hey Jihoon, can we not talk for a while?”

“What do you mean?”

He asked but never got an answer.

The uncomfortable feeling only became stronger as his morning classes continued. Even without looking he felt eyes burning holes at the back of his head. His chest felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand and cold sweat was forming in his forehead. He wanted to throw up.  
He bolted out of the room as soon as the lunch bell rang.

He couldn’t avoid everyone forever. His stomach repeatedly reminded him of that as he went out of hiding from the old music room. The cafeteria wasn’t as packed but he could still see familiar faces. Jihoon quickly bought lunch and went to the farthest corner of the room, hoping that he won’t get noticed.

He tried to spend what little remained of the lunch hour in peace. But that proved impossible as he heard a group of students coming closer. He wanted to just hurry and finish his lunch but the nervousness in the pit of his stomach wasn’t letting him swallow anything. He takes a deep breath just as the group stopped behind him. Two students sat at both his sides and another was behind him.

“Hey, midget.” The student behind him said. He looked behind and was surprised. The kid was huge for a middle schooler; a senior, Jihoon thought. Fat, intimidating, tone was smug, almost sounding like he was daring him to answer back. Judging from how other students were all behind him, he was the leader of their group. Cold sweat ran down Jihoon’s back as he opted to ignore the pudgy boy and continued eating his lunch. Not happy with being ignored, he started poking the back of Jihoon’s head.

“Hello? Anyone home?” The student said, and the rest of the group cackled with laughter. 

He felt his heart drumming in his chest and tears starting to well up in his eyes. He didn’t know why this was happening to him and from how the student behind him was losing patience, he knows that if he didn’t do anything, he was going to get hurt. 

“What do you want?” his tries to steady his voice, hiding his nervousness.

“Oh? He talks.” the student said in fake amazement. The other students were saying something but he couldn’t hear them. All that he could concentrate on was the person in front of him and how the entire cafeteria seemed to become small and empty. 

“Lunch. Give me your lunch.” He whispered as he leaned in closer. Jihoon’s stomach did cartwheels and he felt like vomiting.

Jihoon’s eyes were glassy as he looked at him dead straight in the eye. With hands shaking, he handed over his half eaten sandwich and to his surprise, the sandwich was thrown in the trash bin. The student looks at him again.

“Street rats eat garbage, right?” the crowd laughed and Jihoon had never felt so lost in his life. He wanted to get away but the two students beside grabbed him by the arms and dragged him in front of the trash bin. With all the strength he had, he got loose from their hold and made a dead run out of the cafeteria.

Jihoon didn’t come back for his afternoon class. He was so scared of what happened earlier that cried himself to sleep inside a rundown room at the far corner of the school. The caretaker of the school found him that night as he was checking the rooms. Nothing was the same after that day.

Jihoon hated middle school and his old high school was no different. Everyone knew him and wanted nothing to do with him. He was left alone most of the time and the only time people notice him was when they wanted to pick a fight or when they talk about him behind his back. He honestly wanted to just quit school and work but he was still holding on because he didn’t want to become more of a burden to his brother than he already was. He liked to think that his transfer to Pledis was a blessing in disguise.

But he can’t help but be scared.

He couldn’t imagine how trash like him would fit in a place full of gems. Nevertheless, Pledis was his clean slate and he was going to make the most out of it. He promised himself to survive high school safe and without any hitch.

But then Kwon Soonyoung happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am notorious for irregular updates. Sorry, but you have been warned. *hides*
> 
> feel free to brick me at yoongjihoon.tumblr.com


	4. Shots Fired

Jihoon was still a shade of pink when he got to the cafeteria. He still couldn’t forget the scene from his room which kept playing on repeat in his head. He’s never felt that weak and intimidated by somebody in a long while. It reminded him so much of his past that he couldn’t get a hold of himself.

Now that the initial feeling of anger was gone, embarrassment sunk in. He couldn’t get over how he acted towards someone he just met that day. He’s also anxious about what will happen because of what he did. A lot of things were crowding his mind that he was too spaced out to notice the student with a full tray of food walking towards him. Luckily he was pulled out of the way by Jisoo.

“Whoa, little guy. You look…” He stopped and looked at the small boy. Clothes hurriedly put on, hair disheveled, socks not matching “…not good.”

The cafeteria was packed full of students and Jihoon was feeling a little bit paranoid as Jisoo led him to a vacant table. He waved at Wonwoo who was carrying a tray full of cheeseburgers. Despite his problem, Jihoon couldn’t help but cringe at how much grease the tall lanky boy was going to eat for dinner.

“I need help,” he said after the two has settled.

The two were silent while listening to Jihoon’s tirade on what happened earlier. The quiet was broken after Wonwoo snorted, apparently while trying to stop himself from laughing. Jisoo’s laugh soon followed. Jihoon was confused.

“This is not funny. I don’t want to be attacked in my sleep.”

“Don’t worry you’ll survive. You have us with you. Soonyoung would need to think twice before doing anything as long as we’re here,” Jisoo said as he ruffled Jihoon’s brown locks.

“How are you so sure? He looked like he owned the place.”

“Well, you are talking to the Vice President of the Student council,” Jisoo said proudly.

“If that doesn’t work, his boyfriend would definitely do the trick,” Wonwoo added, biting off a chunk of his second burger.

“Did someone mention Jisoo’s boyfriend?” A voice from behind Wonwoo suddenly piped up. Jihoon didn’t have time to absorb the fact that Jisoo was not as straight as he thought because his mind blanked when he saw that the owner of said voice was a tall, long haired boy that looked like an angel that fell to the ground.

“Hey handsome,” he said, giving Jisoo a quick kiss on the cheek before sitting down beside him.

Jihoon was still staring when the long haired boy noticed him. “I haven’t seen you around before. Hello,” He brightly smiled. Jihoon, on the other hand, choked on his own spit as a response.

He couldn’t talk as he violently coughed and wished to whoever was out there to just let implode into oblivion. He felt a comforting hand rubbing his back “Are you okay?” it was the angel.

“Yes, I’m fine,” He said, blushing crimson.

“Waah. he’s so cute,” the long haired boy said as he looked at Jihoon with awe, just like how a kid would look at a new toy. He could’ve sworn that he saw a halo forming above the guy’s head.

“I’m Yoon Jeonghan, nice to meet you,” He smiled as he extended a hand to Jihoon.

“I’m Lee Jihoon, the transfer student,” He shook the hand and returned the smile.

“So, it sounded like you needed me to do something?” Jeonghan asked. Jihoon retold the story of his encounter with Soonyoung.

As they were talking, Jihoon found out more about the three students with him than Soonyoung. Aside from being Jisoo’s boyfriend, Yoon Jeonghan is in the same year as them but is from a different class. He is the student council president and the top student of their year level. Coming from a family of celebrities, he also works as a part time model during break.

“Wow. The perfect human,” Jihoon chuckled out of part awe and disbelief.

“Him?” Jisoo pointed at Jeonghan.

Jeonghan grinned, “Not even close. My _little_ friend,” Jihoon let the remark pass.

“You should see him during exam week,” Wonwoo commented.

“Well, not all of us were born geniuses, you know,” He remarked while eating his salad.

Jeon Wonwoo, on the other hand, was by all means, a genius. Gifted with photographic memory and a penchant for technology, he is known to be the heir their family business of data trade. He is attached to his laptop which apparently contains data on almost everyone in the school especially those that pique his interest.

“Which reminds me, have you studied for Han-seongsaengnim’s exam?” Jeonghan asked.

Wonwoo took a bite off his burger, “Nah. Not interested,” It was his fourth and Jihoon was considering that Wonwoo had a black hole for a stomach.

“You know he’s going to pass, Hannie.”

“I know but it’s frustrating that a lazy ass sloth will ace that test _again_ and I won’t,” The long haired student took a particularly big piece of lettuce and stuffed it in his mouth. Wonwoo rolled his eyes.

“And there he goes.”

“Don’t mind him,” Jisoo just gave his lover a comforting pat in the back. “Mr. Han’s exams are always hard and Wonwoo is the only student in our year that always gets a perfect score.”

“Did I mention that he has a bad competitive streak?” Wonwoo commented. Jeonghan stuck his tongue out.

“and acts like a kid sometimes,” He remarked as he finished off is burger. Jeonghan huffed and Jisoo chuckled while putting his arms around his lover waist to calm him down.

Hong Jisoo was involved in the music industry. Aside from his family being distributors of high quality musical instruments, they’re also quite known for creating state of the art musical equipment. Making it big in the Korean market, his family moved in from the USA few years ago.

Except for Jisoo, the other two have been schoolmates with Soonyoung since primary school.

“Okay, it looks like you all know him. But please I have to live with the guy. I need to at least know who I’m up against.”

Jeonghan and Jisoo looked at Wonwoo who was about to take a bite from his dinner, “Would you do us the honor?”

“Do I really have to?” Wonwoo asked.

“Well you are the best friend,” Jeonghan said.

“ _were_ the best friend,” He corrected.

“Whatever. In any case, I know that you have an entire folder about him on that laptop of yours,” Jeonghan pointed to Wonwoo’s bag.

“Fine,” He says reluctantly as he turned on his laptop. His desktop was organized. Folders, files, and apps were neatly grouped together. The only thing amiss was a lone folder on the corner of the screen titled ‘gyu’. He goes to a ‘Pledis’ folder and clicks on a document named Kwon Soonyoung.

According to the file, Kwon Soonyoung was the youngest son of a family of entertainers. He has two other siblings, the oldest being Kwon Boa, a famous pop star, and Kwon Jiyong who is famous for being a rapper, songwriter, and a producer. A budding performer, Soonyoung himself is quite popular in Pledis for his good looks and his excellent dancing skills.

Jihoon quickly sifted through the file but found nothing in particular that could be used against him.

“Hoshi? What the fuck is a hoshi?” Jihoon asked.

“It means star in Japanese,” Jeonghan answered.

“He prefers to be called Hoshi. He said that he wants that to be his stage name when he gets famous,” Wonwoo added. Jihoon rolled his eyes so hard he could’ve sworn he saw his brain.

After scrolling through rows upon rows of facts, similar to questions asked by Wonwoo earlier, and some pictures, Jihoon returned the laptop to its owner.

“Okay, that was…” Jihoon was trying to politely say that he got absolutely nothing out of that.

“Completely useless,” Wonwoo finished his sentence for him.

“Yes. Yes it was,” Jihoon blankly replied.

A few moments later, Jihoon rested his forehead on the table and sighed out of hopelessness. The three felt sorry for the boy but they didn’t know what else to do. The atmosphere was grim but was dissipated when Jisoo suddenly spoke.

“Okay, so who wants chicken?” he announced. Jihoon looked at him like he grew an extra head, Wonwoo facepalmed, and Jeonghan raised his hand and laughed, “Me!”

“Come with me, my dear?” Jisoo stood up offered his hand like a knight and Jeonghan accepted.

“Chicken freak,” Wonwoo grumbled as the two made their way back to the stalls.

Jihoon could only imagine what was in store for him once he gets back to his room, if there was still a room for him to go back to. Right now he’s just hoping that his stuff isn’t waiting for him at the corridor. He sighed once more.

“Is he going to kick me out?” he mumbled.

“Nah, he won’t,” Wonwoo smiled as he patted the younger’s back.

Jihoon was contemplating this but memories of what happened earlier in the corridor and their room was still fresh in his mind. He knows that it was his fault that things almost got messy that afternoon and that he was the one who gave into Soonyoung’s words.

“But I hit him with my bag,” He reasons. Wonwoo chuckles.

“Expect him to get back at you for that. But he wouldn’t kick you out,” He reassured Jihoon.

“He’s a good person,” He added.

“Well, he didn’t look that good when he was about to smack me in the face,” Wonwoo was speechless for a moment because it was the first time he saw Soonyoung act the way he did.

“Jihoon, I know this is weird because we just met but…” hesitation was evident in Wonwoo’s voice.

“Can you please forgive Soonyoung? Or at least give him a chance.”

From Jisoo, maybe; but Jihoon didn’t expect it to come from Wonwoo who was always insistent that he wasn’t friends with Soonyoung anymore. Part of him wanted to just let it go and start over with the boy. But the other part, which apparently had letting go issues, was left with an awfully strong impression of their first meeting. He lost count of how much he sighed during that day.

“You know, that Soonyoung is lucky to have you as a friend,” Jihoon said.

“So is that a yes?” Wonwoo asked expectantly.

“Fine, since you asked very nicely,” Jihoon said.

He couldn’t help but smile himself when he saw Wonwoo’s smile, but was quickly replaced by slight disgust as he saw that the boy was unwrapping yet again another burger. Jisoo and Jeonghan returned with a tray full of chicken wings and Jihoon silently wondered if the salad the long haired boy was eating earlier just a joke.

“So, what are we going to do with Soonyoung?” Jisoo asked the two as he sat down.

“I’ll try and be civil with him,” he announced.

“Wow we weren’t even gone for that long. What did you do?” Jeonghan was surprised at the sudden change of heart. Wonwoo just grinned at the two.

“But if I don’t make it back alive tomorrow then it’s your fault,” Jihoon said to Wonwoo before leaving the table and getting his much deserved dinner.

Jihoon felt a lot of things on his first day. Excited when he met Jisoo and Wonwoo; mad when he first encountered Soonyoung; flustered when he found out that he was roommates with the blonde, anxious because of what happened after.

Now he was just exhausted.

He really didn’t want his first day to turn out the way it did. Looking back, he didn’t even know why he reacted that way towards the blonde boy.  Now that he’s calmed down, he feels more miserable than annoyed. Mostly, with himself.

As he was making his way back to the dorms, his phone sang a familiar tune. It was Donghae. He then remembered that he hasn’t spoken to his brother since that morning before class.

He always talked with his brother over the phone every night. It was a habit he developed when he was young. The two weren’t able to see each other very much since Donghae used to work in the morning and then went to university at night. Jihoon would always be asleep when he got home. When Donghae brought Jihoon his first mobile phone on his thirteenth birthday, they would always call each other and talk about their day over the phone when Jihoon was walking home from school or when Donghae was on his way to university.

“Hello, my lovely _little_ brother,” His brother’s teasing voice chimed as soon as he accepted the call.

“Call me little again and I swear will push your car off a cliff,” His threat was empty.

“Very sweet of you, munchkin,” Donghae said sarcastically, “But I doubt you’d be able to push it because you’re so tiny,” the older’s words were annoying, but his laugh was very comforting.

Jihoon couldn’t help but roll his eyes, “What do you want?”

Jihoon was barraged by a number of questions ranging from the typical ‘how was your day?’ to checking if he’s already eaten dinner, to asking if he passed the pop quiz he warned him about, to asking if he’s already found a boyfriend.

“Okay. I’m hanging up,” He deadpanned. He smiled when he heard Donghae yell.

“It was… interesting,” He chuckled. He told Donghae about his whole day as he walked towards his dorm; about his first meeting with Wonwoo, Jisoo, and Jeonghan sans the part about Soonyoung in the hallway. Donghae also talked about his day.

“So, that Jeonghan kid is pretty good-looking, don’t you think?”

“He’s with Jisoo, hyung.”

“That cute Vice-President?” Donghae’s voice sounded surprised, “You’re too short for him anyway,” The older dismissed.

“Did you have dinner yet?” Jihoon asked.

“I’m eating right now. You?” He said, taking a bite off his sandwich.

Donghae has always had a habit of checking on Jihoon. When he was still studying, he would often get worried about his younger brother and he would randomly call just to shake off the worry. Jihoon always answered as soon as the phone rang.

“Just did. I’m on my way back to my room,” He was walking towards the dorms when he remembered that Soonyoung might be waiting for him. He decided to take the longer route back.

“Did you enjoy your first day?” Donghae excitedly asked after almost choking on his food.

“Yeah. It was okay,” Jihoon wanted to add an exception but he didn’t want to worry his brother.

“It’s going to get better from here. Trust me,” Jihoon could feel how happy his brother was.

_“Yeah, it definitely is. Given me and my roommate don’t kill each other,”_ Jihoon thought to himself.

Jihoon heard a beep from the other line. “Oh, I’ve got to go. The principal just called,” Donghae said.

“Brush your teeth before going to bed,” Donghae reminded him.

Jihoon smiled, “Okay, you too, I can smell you from here.”

It was a thing between the two. Donghae would say something and Jihoon would try and get back with a sassy remark.

“Make sure your stuff is ready for tomorrow.”

“I’m not the one who always forgets stuff, old man.”

“Don’t forget to change your underwear,” He said, louder than necessary. Donghae always manages to win their game in the end.

“Yah! What am I, five?” Jihoon was embarrassed at the thought of his brother broadcasting his dirty laundry in front of the whole faculty.

“Well, you’re so small that I keep forgetting,” Donghae teased. Jihoon pouted.

“I can feel your pout all the way from here, Jihoonie,” Donghae chuckled.

“How did you know I was pouting?” Jihoon was surprised.

“I’m your brother. I always know,” another beep; It was the principal.

“That call must be important. See you tomorrow. Good night, hyung.”

“Goodnight, _little_ brother.”

He was still having second thoughts on coming back so he took a little walk around the school. He aimlessly walked around and explored. He lost track of time and it was curfew by the time that he realized it. He ran back to his dorms as fast as he could and made just in time. Reality sunk in as he stood in front of his room. He was worried about what he’ll see once he enters.

To his surprise, there was no one inside.

He checked the room and it looked like Soonyoung hasn’t returned. His clothes were still in his bed, none of his stuff was missing, and his bag was sill in Soonyoung’s bed.

Jihoon cringed at the memory and reminded himself to apologize to the boy when he gets back.

With the tension gone, sleep crept in. He prepared for bed hoping to see the other and finally set things straight. But he never came back.

The sound of a fire alarm pierced through his sleep. Half dead, Jihoon tapped on his phone screen on snooze the first time it went off. When his phone rang again, he actually entertained the idea of throwing out the source of the ungodly noise out of the window in favor of more sleep in his soft bed under the warm duvet. But the audible growl from his stomach said otherwise; the brunette roused awake with a groan.

He was jolted awake when he discovered that he didn’t tap snooze and it was actually the second alarm that just rang. He only had fifteen minutes left to dress up and get his very late ass to class. Didn’t have the time to berate himself as he dashed through his morning routine in a mere five minutes.

As he was towel-drying his hair, he proceeded to get his socks and underwear in his closet drawer. To his shock, he found the whole thing empty except for a green post-it.

 

**_Hey shorty,_ **

****

**_You looked so cute sleeping that I turned off the alarm for you._ **

****

**_Love,_ **

**_Hoshi_ **

****

**_PS: Look above you._ **

Jihoon was already shaking with rage as he was reading the note. But he felt his vein pop the moment he looked up.

His underwear, socks, and shoes were glued on the ceiling.

Jihoon missed his first period.

Once he got his stuff down, with the help from the dorm caretaker, he waited out in the halls for his first period teacher to exit the room before going in. His entrance was mostly unnoticed except by his two friends.

“Hey’ what’s—” Wonwoo was about to ask when he was cut off by the younger.

“Remember when I promised you that I’d make up with him last night?” He asked, smiling. But the smile on his face wasn’t actually a happy one.

“Yes. What happened?” Wonwoo was surprised at the sudden change.

“No I won’t. Not now, not ever,” His voice was shaking.

 “This means war, Kwon Soonyoung.”


	5. Return Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Just wanted to tell you that I'm still alive, but barely.
> 
> First of all, I want to thank all of you who're reading this fic. it really means a lot to me that people actually take time and read this piece of literary fanboy word diarrhea. Thank you so SO MUCH, you're all my inspiration in pushing forward with this.
> 
> And about my huge posting gaps, I don't exactly know what possessed me to do what I'm doing right now but I'm currently taking up my Law degree (yes, i'm old) and my brain is turning into actual mush. I originally wanted to finish this whole thing before posting it but if i did that then i'm not sure what year this is gonna be done. >_____

Jisoo found the transfer student quite interesting. Nobody in their right mind would mess with anybody on their first day of school but here was him who appeared out of nowhere and was actually able to stand up to Kwon Soonyoung of all people. His musing was interrupted by the morning bell which signaled the start of their class.

Said transfer student was nowhere to be found.

“Hey, do you think Soonyoung scared off Jihoon?” a worried Jisoo asked Wonwoo who was busy dozing off with his head perched on his desk. The sleepy boy replied with a noncommittal grunt and a weak wave of his hand which was probably meant to calm the older.

Fifteen minutes into class and Jisoo was impatiently checking his watch; though nothing much has changed since he looked at the gadget a couple of seconds ago, and a few more seconds ago before that.

“Would you stop checking your watch every five seconds? It’s distracting me from my sleep,” Wonwoo murmured with his eyes closed. It was easy to tune out the voice of the teacher since his voice sounded like he was singing a lullabye. But Jisoo’s grunting were becoming too much.

“How does me looking at my watch distract you? You don’t even see me,” Jisoo huffed.

“You make weird dying walrus sounds when you’re worried,” Wonwoo sits up and looks at him, eyes still sleepy.

“But I haven’t seen him yet,” He whispered. “Do you think something happened to him?”

“Something definitely happened to him,” Wonwoo deadpans. It was already weird that a transfer student wouldn’t show up on his second day of class. Putting that together with what happened yesterday and the fact that Soonyoung always gets even, he was almost sure that something happened.

“What the hell? You’re supposed to make me feel better,” Jisoo half screamed at the sleepy student.

“He did hit Soonyoung with a bag,” Wonwoo said pensively. “That brat will get back at him for sure.”

“But it won’t be anything serious,” the sleepy boy assures him.

‘ _I hope,_ ’ He adds as an afterthought.

 

Jisoo considerably calmed down after their small conversation. But Wonwoo can still catch him looking out the window or glancing at the door in hopes of the new student barging in. He couldn’t help but worry himself. He tried distracting himself with the lesson but science didn’t really interest him that much. So he let himself drift off to his own musings instead.

He was only able to let out a sigh of relief when he caught sight of a head of brown hair peeking from the glass panel of their classroom door. Several minutes later, the bell signaling the end of first period rang and Jihoon finally made his way inside.

“Hey’ what’s—” Wonwoo wanted to ask when he was interrupted by the younger. He was going to play it like he didn’t expect anything to happen but looking closer, there was definitely something wrong with the shorter male.

“Remember when I promised you that I’d make up with him last night?” He asked, smiling. But the smile on his face wasn’t actually a happy one.

“Yes. What happened?” Wonwoo was surprised at the younger’s voice.

“No I won’t. Not now, not ever,” His voice was shaking.

“Okay,” Jisoo said. Rubbing the younger’s back in a futile attempt to calm him down. “Can you tell us what happened first?”

Jihoon was still clenching his fists in rage as he recalled how embarrassing it was to have the caretaker fish out his underwear from the ceiling because he couldn’t reach it.

“I can still feel the glue crusting on my boxers,” he chuckled darkly, “that jerk is going to pay.”

Jihoon was still fuming when second period started but Wonwoo was sure he’d be calmer after. Second period was Math, also known as more nap time.

 

The sound of the bell signaling the end of the period resounded throughout the halls, followed by the distinct sound of textbooks being closed, and the scrape of seats against the floor effectively woke up Wonwoo. There was a small break between classes and he just remembered that there was a raging brunette on his left.

No one can underestimate the calming properties of Math as Jihoon was practically still half dead. But Wonwoo wanted answers.

“Jihoon-ssi?” he gently poked the younger’s shoulder, stirring the younger to reality.

 “Drop the formalities. We’re the same age,” He replied, still a bit drowsy.

“So can you tell me what happened with you two?” He asked straightforwardly which seemed to be a mistake because the look on Jihoon’s face went from serene to incredibly pissed in less than one second.

“I was waiting for him to come back last night to apologize but he never returned,” the shorter grumbled. Wonwoo nodded because he knows it was Soonyoung’s habit to stay out late.

“Then I find out that that stupid piece of shit messed with my phone and glued my clothes on the ceiling,” his voice filling with rage at remembering the experience and the embarrassment.

Wonwoo sighs, “Same old Soonyoung.”

“So what are you going to do?” He asked next.

“I don’t know. Kick his ass so hard he regrets being born?” He was considering it but opted to not get expelled.

“But the school has strict rules against violence,” Wonwoo warned and Jihoon looked at him straight in the eye, “You know parents, won’t even let a fly touch their precious devil spawns.”

“So? I’m just going to let him walk over me?” the brunette asked, disappointment all over his face.

“Nope, but you could get back at him,” the older suggested eyebrows wiggling mischievously.

“Wonwoo, what are you doing?” Jisoo interrupted. Not liking where the conversation was going.

“Being a supportive friend to Jihoon?” Wonwoo blinked his eyed in fake innocence, his smile was growing bigger. “Besides, it was Soonyoung who threw the first punch.”

“Just make sure no one gets hurt,” Jisoo sighed in surrender. Wonwoo was in one of those moods where he’d actually get up and play with Soonyoung. In the few years he’s known the boy, he could never convince him to back down.

“Yes mister Vice President,” Wonwoo smile smiled at a slightly frightened Jihoon.

“So this is what we’re going to do…” He starts as he pulls out his laptop when he was interrupted by the younger.

“But I already got back at him,” Jihoon points out the window. Wonwoo’s eyes widened at the sight of Soonyoung’s clothes soaking in the fountain. He could tell it was his because of the neon green underwear which was precariously placed at the top of the fountain, like a flag. He remembered giving it to him as a birthday gift a couple of years ago.

“Good job,” He gently pats Jihoon’s head and Jisoo laughs.

The three were looking out the window as Soonyoung ran towards the fountain to salvage his wet clothes. The same can’t be said for his dignity as he dives towards the middle to fish out his neon green boxers. Jihoon was watching intently as the blonde was getting out of the fountain, hair weighed down by the water and clothes sopping wet. Their eyes made contact when he suddenly looked up and Jihoon has never felt so smug his whole life.

He gave Soonyoung the biggest smile he could muster and a two fingered salute.

Soonyoung’s face was priceless; a mix between shock and confusion. Jihoon would’ve taken a picture if the boy wasn’t so quick to disappear.

In all honesty, He was waiting for Soonyoung to make a scene. Judging from his expression and his seatmate’s eerie brand of excitement, the blonde will definitely be up to something. But it never came. He could’ve sworn that he saw a mop of blonde hair at the cafeteria during lunch when he caught Wonwoo staring at a group with a kid as tall as a flagpole, a kid which looked like Leonardo DiCaprio, and two other students he couldn’t see but could definitely hear because of their boisterously loud singing.

 

Classes were over and Jihoon was on his way back to his room.

_Their room._

He’s had more than his fair share of bullying from his middle school and his old high school. On his way back, he tried to think of all the possible things that could happen to him to keep himself ready. Wonwoo also gave him a heads up on what Soonyoung might do to get him back. All of them were petty.

But he still keeps his guard up.

Jihoon was becoming more aware of his surroundings as he was closing in on their room. He checked what was in front and behind him, left and right, above and below. Call him paranoid, but once he got to their door he slightly touched the metal doorknob to check if it was electrically charged.

It won’t be the first time it’s happened.

After checking, he suddenly pushed the door in case there was a bucket of water waiting for him and laughed at himself for thinking too much.

The sun just set when he came in. The curtains were drawn back revealing dusk settling in. The sky was filled with blues and violets, with hints of orange sunlight at some parts. Jihoon couldn’t help but gaze at the beautiful scenery. He toed off his shoes and padded his way to the windows to admire the view.

“You,” A calm voice filled the room.

Jihoon felt his skin jump. He turned his head so quick that he felt his neck crick. He’s been in too many similar situations and none of them ended well. The sparse light from outside was just enough for him to see Soonyoung seated on top of his bed which puts him at ease. At least he’s not going to do this blind.

“Were you the one who dumped my clothes in the fountain?”

“Yeah,” He steadies his voice and keeps his body alert, “Payback from this morning,” The sound of the bed creaking makes him more aware of his surroundings. He clenched his fists and thought of at least a couple of ways how Soonyoung can come at him. He automatically takes a defensive stance.

Soft footsteps made their way towards the door followed by a thud and various expletives from the blonde. The lights switched on and Jihoon visibly relaxed. Soonyoung didn’t seem like a threat now that he was hopping around nursing an injured toe.

“Stupid cabinet,” He looked at the piece of furniture as if it offended his whole being.

“That thing you pulled off earlier,” He was looking intently at Jihoon with a slight scowl. The other just stared back, still watching out for any sudden moves.

 

“Not bad,” Soonyoung gave him a shrug and an approving nod.

“What?” Jihoon asked, dumbfounded.

_“What the hell?”_

There was definitely something wrong with this scene. It was like a twilight zone of sorts. He might’ve entertained the possibility of accidentally stumbling into an alternate universe just because of how undick-like— if that was even a word— the blonde was being.

“Now I know why Wonwoo likes you,” The blonde grabs the laptop on the study table and hops back to his bed with a light chuckle, “You have potential.”

The room became silent except for the sound of Soonyoung’s laptop whirring to life. Jihoon was still at the same spot, staring at a completely relaxed Soonyoung who had his back against the headboard of the bed, headphones on, and was typing on his laptop.

His brain started to function again and reminded him that he was supposed to meet with his brother for dinner. He quickly got dressed, but not without checking if his clothes had hardened glue in it.

 “Oh, but don’t think you’re getting away from me,” He stopped dead on his tracks when he heard the blonde speak. This was more of what he was expecting, “I don’t lose, shorty.”

“Will you stop calling me that?” he takes a deep breath. Thankful that he didn’t have anything near him that he could throw unlike the last time, “I have a name.”

“I know,” the blonde was now smiling at him, “Jihoon, right?”

Jihoon didn’t like the way how his name comes out of Soonyoung’s mouth.

“But I like calling you shorty,” he chuckled, “it’s so you.”

It was pissing him off so badly and it was more irritating because he couldn’t even explain why he was irritated in the first place. He’s suffered way worse from where he came from but there was just something about Kwon Soonyoung that makes him want to throttle the living daylights out of the said blonde.

“You know what,” Jihoon turns around and walks towards the blonde, “You are going down.”

Soonyoung was now blankly staring at him, whatever he was doing in his laptop set aside. Jihoon’s eyes widened when the other stood up to meet him. His heart raced when he realized that he didn’t have time to react to whatever Soonyoung was throwing his way.

“We’ll see about that, Jihoon-ssi,” Soonyoung whispered dangerously close to his ear.

He did not like this feeling. He felt sick. He felt like a huge rock was dropped into his stomach and his face was burning. The taller had already gone to the bathroom and he used that opportunity to disappear.

Dinner was spent with Jihoon listless and ignoring questioning looks sent by his brother. He wasn’t surprised to find their room empty when he got back. He laid down on his bed thinking about the boy. Scared wasn’t the right word to describe what he was feeling towards the blonde.

 

But he’s sure that he’s not going to lose.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, tell me what you think. :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which more characters are introduced. More revelations happen, and the author still doesn't know where he's going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I see that I've not been able to post for a LOOOOONG time. I'm sorry. Although in my defense, wanting to die everyday is really pushing back my inspiration. :)
> 
> I thank Seventeen for continuously releasing content that my Soonhoon feels continue burning. LIKE SERIOUSLY, HAVE YOU SEEN SHOOT ME BEFORE YOU GO???! GRADE A SOONHOON MATERIAL RIGHT THEEEREEEE.
> 
> Anyways, hope you guys that started out this story with me are still there. To those that took time to read, to give kudos, and comment, thank you for taking interest in this shitstorm called Survival. I love you guys!
> 
> Without further ado, I give you chapter 6.
> 
> Ciao,
> 
> -Akira ♥

Jihoon’s lungs were burning as he sprinted towards the Performing Arts building across campus. He had thought that he was thirty minutes early for his class only to find out that his phone was telling the time thirty minutes late.

“Fucking blonde.” He grumbled as he felt his legs burning from exertion.

His eyes widened as he caught sight of the building. It was a tower on the edge of a cliff made of black tinted glass panels making the entire building look like black obelisk under the sun. He would’ve just stayed outside and admired the whole thing if he wasn’t running late. He entered the building and was even more surprised at the interior. The main lobby looked like a museum decked with marble floors and lofty ceilings, complete with a concierge, receptionist, and guards at the receiving area. But what caught his attention the most was the view. The side of the building facing the ocean was practically a one way mirror and he could see the entire ocean. He was very tempted to just sit there and admire the view but remembered how his brother was going to kick his ass if he skipped class.

“Good Morning, how may we help you?” The female receptionist smiled at a frazzled Jihoon.

“Is this the Performance Arts building?” he tapped his I.D. on the scanner which showed his schedule on the monitor, “I’m supposed to have classes there.”

“Your vocals class is on the Fifth floor,” the receptionist told him while looking at a monitor with the building map “503, second room on the left.”

Jihoon sprinted towards the elevator and thanked technology for giving him at least ten seconds to fix himself before going through another first day fiasco. He exited the elevator and was luckily able to quickly find his room.

He took a couple of deep breaths before entering the class.

He still was not sure if he was in the right building because the room he entered wasn’t technically a ‘classroom’. The first thing he noticed was the lack of windows and the padded walls. If it were not for the classy design of the room and the array instruments put on display at the back, he would’ve thought that he was in an asylum. An electric keyboard was at the front where the teacher’s table should be flanked with a shelf filled to the brim with music books and scores. The chairs weren’t lined up facing the front but instead were scrambled everywhere. Students were huddled together in groups chattering about while some were alone scribbling or playing an instrument.

The whole class went silent for a good few seconds when he entered the room. It wasn’t anything new to Jihoon, but it still made him feel uncomfortable.

“Jihoon?” He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Jisoo calling out to him on one side of the room cradling a guitar.

“Oh, yo—” Jihoon didn’t have time to move because he was immediately enveloped in a warm hug from behind courtesy of one Yoon Jeonghan. “Hello, my little friend.”

As usual, Jihoon choked on his own spit. He seemed to be doing that every time Jeonghan was around. At least his reaction made the long-haired boy detach himself from him. Even if he couldn’t see it, he could feel eyes following him while he was being ushered to the empty seat Jisoo pulled over.

He hasn’t even caught his breath yet when the door slid open, effectively silencing the entire class. Everyone stood up and bowed to welcome the teacher, a tan, petite lady with huge glasses framing her face and hair tied in a messy bun. The sound of her high heels clacking on the parquet floor filled the room as she made her way to the keyboard and brought the gadget to life.

“Come on, class. Up, up,” she smiled, gesturing the class to stand. “It’s time for warm ups.”

His ears were still ringing when the teacher called for a short break and left the room with Jeonghan in tow. He was contemplating that maybe he was still asleep and all of this was nothing but a dream as everything here was too much to be considered normal. He’s already lost count of how many times he heard impressively inhumane notes, some of it coming from the two boys beside Jisoo.

Jeonghan returned while Jihoon was distracted and gave the younger a big smile which made him nervous for some reason.

The teacher returned after a few minutes and searched the room from the front. “Class, it seems we have fresh blood,” She smiled when she and Jihoon made eye contact. “I’m this class’ instructor, Kim So Hyang, please introduce yourself,” she gestured for Jihoon to stand.

“Good Morning, I’m Lee Jihoon,” He stood up and bowed. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

“As this is Vocals, new students need to sing in front of the class,” she winked. “For your initial assessment, of course.”

He did not like this. He smiled at the woman in front. But inside, he was freaking out. He hated it when people looked at him because it made him so uncomfortable. Like his entire being was being judged. His hands were becoming clammy and cold sweat was sliding down his back as he made his way to the front of the class behind the electric keyboard, thankful for the instrument as he wanted to avoid eye contact and hide himself as much as possible. Amid it all, he reminded himself to strangle his brother for signing him up for vocals instead of something quiet like Home Economics.

He took a deep breath as he finished his song and opened his eyes only to see the whole class staring at him in silence. It didn’t last long because the silence was broken with the sound of hands clapping. His two friends at the back were wearing wide smiles and clapping harder than most of the class.

“You have a nice gift there, Jihoon-ssi,” the teacher said with a smile. “You may return to your seat.” Classes resumed with the teacher calling out the first group to show their piece.

Jisoo and Jeonghan were still wearing shit eating grins when he got back to his seat.

“Could you stop it already, it’s embarrassing.”

“But you were so good, Jihoonie.” Jeonghan was praising the younger on his performance when Jisoo’s phone vibrated. It was Wonwoo.

“Hello?” He walked out of the classroom to answer the call. It didn’t take long but it was clear that there was something wrong judging from Jisoo’s look when he came back. He went straight towards the back of the room and grabbed a small camera secretly placed at the back of the instrument rack. He quickly shut off the gadget and returned to his seat.

“It’s from the Media Club,” he held out the small camera and examined it.

Jeonghan was pensive for a few moments and then looked at Jisoo. “You’re thinking about Channie, aren’t you?”

“Wait, Channie as in our Lee Chan?” the boy beside Jisoo interrupts. “What does he have to do with this?”

“Well, your friend may or may not have dedicated his life to destroying our little friend over here.” Jeonghan said, patting Jihoon’s head.

Jihoon, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on “Wait, what the fuck is happening? Why is there a camera?” putting two and two together, his eyes widened in realization “Don’t tell me Soonyoung is behind this?”

“Ah, so you’re the mystery roommate.” the other boy suddenly realized. “Nice to meet you, I’m Lee Seokmin” he smiled a bit too bright for Jihoon’s taste. He smiled back with a little wince on the side, “Nice to meet you too.”

“You were the one who threw all of hyung’s clothes at the fountain that time?” the boy beside Seokmin piped up. “Daebak.”

“Boo Seungkwan,” said boy held out his hand. “Future superstar.”

“Nice to meet you, Seungkwan-ssi,” Jihoon awkwardly took the boy’s hand.

In the span his three hour class, Jihoon had already found the two very endearing.

Seungkwan was a freshman with a very attractive personality. His wit and confidence naturally made everyone’s attention gravitate towards him. But what really kept them in awe was the young boy’s singing. The class would often laugh at his jokes and side comments but always fell silent when he sang. True to his earlier introduction, Jihoon thought that he really did have the potential to become big someday.

Seokmin, also a freshman, was the quieter one but also with a bright personality. Despite his tall build and broad shoulders, a dazzling, child-like smile was perpetually plastered on his face. Jihoon thought that he would need sunglasses every time the boy smiled, which was often. His boundless energy translated onto every move he made and like Seungkwan, his singing had also been amazing. Jihoon couldn’t help but applaud the boy when he sang in front.

As much as he liked the two, Jihoon couldn’t shake off the fact that the two boys were part of Soonyoung’s circle. One was because they looked too innocent to be doing pranks on other students and because they looked like polar opposites of the blonde. But it turned out that Seokmin and Soonyoung had been close since they were in grade school while Seungkwan had been a transfer student and was in Seokmin’s class since the year began. Even though the two were friendly with him, he couldn’t help but keep his guard up. He had a feeling that he was going to be seeing more of these two.

The class went on with the teacher rambling on about different music styles. While Jihoon tried his best to pay attention, his mind was still stuck on the damn camera and how would Soonyoung use it against him. He would’ve liked to talk about it with Jisoo but he was occupied with being a clingy boyfriend at the moment. Classes ended and Jeonghan had to leave for Theater class, while two made their way to their Music Writing class. Jisoo could tell that Jihoon was clearly troubled by the whole thing.

“Don’t worry. He won’t use that against you.” Jisoo said out loud. 

Jihoon stopped walking. He doesn’t really look convinced. “How are you sure?”

“Well, you did amazing back there for one,” he gave Jihoon a pat on the head. “So it wouldn’t really help Soonyoung with whatever it is he’s trying to do,” The taller boy smiled. It made him relax a little bit.

“and if he did use it, I’m sure you or Wonwoo won’t take it sitting down.” He laughed. “If anyone could put blondie in his place, it’s going to be you two.”

“Just let me kick his ass, please?” Jihoon suggested.

“Just don’t let Hannie see it.” Jisoo mischievously grinned and Jihoon felt a lot less nervous.

He was thankful that Jisoo was in the same class as him because he was getting really tired of getting lost in campus. It was a good thing that the next class was in the same building, just a few floors above.

This classroom was totally different from the earlier one. This room looked more like an ordinary classroom with rows of school chairs neatly arranged. The only thing out of place was the huge window which showed a spectacular view of the ocean. It was only then that he realized that they were on the top floor of the building. Jihoon welcomed the sense of normalcy that the classroom gave off.

There weren’t many students when the two entered but someone was already behind the teacher’s desk. The instructor, he assumes, who didn’t even spare the two a glance, was hunched towards his laptop and was furiously typing. Jihoon slowly approached his teacher to introduce himself.

“Excuse me… sir?” Jihoon meekly said. He felt a little conscious on intruding with whatever it was his instructor was busying himself with. He noted the mop of wavy chestnut brown hair, the pale skin, and pointed nose from his side profile when he suddenly realized that his instructor looked extremely familiar. An accidental glance of the screen showed that said teacher was defending his Protoss camp from the invading Zergs in a very heated game of Stracraft.

“Kyu-hyung?”

He took back all of whatever good he thought about his teacher and coughed a little louder to get his attention which proved successful when the teacher let out a brief cuss and paused the game. Jihoon smiled when the instructor finally looked up.

“Hey,” the instructor smiled as he yawned loudly and did a stretch which produced bone cracking sounds, “Long time no see, Jihoon-ah”.

“Hyung what are you doing here?” Jihoon and Kyuhyun have known each other for several years already. Kyuhyun was a friend of his brother from university and was at the same time his piano teacher of 7 years until two years ago when they moved houses. 

“Obviously, I teach here,” Jihoon almost forgot how sassy and sarcastic his hyung was because it had been a while since they saw each other. But it was comforting to see another familiar face in these circumstances. Aside from the hair color, nothing much has changed. He was still the bespectacled sweater loving hyung that he has known since he was a kid. 

“Now take your seat. We’ll talk later.” Kyuhyun shooed Jihoon to his seat and went back to his game. He called Jihoon again as he was making his way to the back of the classroom and smiled.

“It’s nice to see you again.”

“Wow. What did you do?” Jisoo whispered as Jihoon sat beside him, “Professor Cho never smiles.”

“Uhh… I charmed him with my unique personality?” He grinned. He still didn’t want to tell anybody that was related to anyone from the school. He wasn’t embarrassed. He just didn’t want to be bothered by students who come to him just to get his brother’s attention, like those in the past.

“Yeah, and Hannie is a pretty pink princess.” Jisoo patted the younger’s head.

“But he really is–“. Jihoon tried to retaliate.

“Hush, little one.” Jisoo silenced the younger.

Classes started when most of the students have arrived. It was honestly weird for Jihoon seeing his old teacher teaching in an actual classroom because he was used to having one on one sessions with him in their living room.

He remembered the times when he was younger when he had to hide out behind the piano in the music room of his school until it was safe enough for him to leave. It was then that he had developed an interest with musical instruments. There came a time when he always came home late not because he was hiding but because he was teaching himself how to play the piano. When his brother discovered the music scores hidden under his bed, he immediately brought Jihoon an electric keyboard and convinced Kyuhyun to give Jihoon private piano lessons even though they did not have that much money.

He also remembered his old friends.

He was called on by Kyuhyun to introduce himself to the class. He was thankful that he didn’t have to do anything special like the class before. But he wanted to grab the nearest book that he could find and throw that at his instructor because he was asking too much questions. It was fine at first but the eighth question was already too much for his tastes.

But at the same time, he could never back down on a challenge. He wanted to show that he never forgot what he was taught.

Jihoon felt relieved when Kyuhyun finally stopped barraging him with questions. Relief only lasted for a few minutes due to the stare he was getting from Jisoo.

“You’re going to attract flies. Close your mouth” he said. Not even looking at the older.

“You’re a genius, aren’t you?” Jisoo asked. Still in awe at how Jihoon answered all the questions thrown at him. He’s been exposed to music since he was young but even he had a tough time under Kyuhyun’s tutelage.

“As if.” He scoffed. If Jisoo only knew how long it actually took him to remember all that information. He could still vividly remember the nightmares he had as a child of him being chased down by a grand piano and a crowd of angry busts. 

It was nice to hear his teacher’s familiar voice but everything that he has been teaching for the past half hour was too basic for someone whose been taught music for five years. He couldn’t help but tune everything out and just write notes on his manuscript while enjoying the view outside. Before he knew it, everyone around him was clearing their tables and saying their goodbyes. When the classroom was almost cleared of students, He approached Kyuhyun’s table and handed over his manuscript. The instructor gently smiled as he scanned the sheet of paper.

“You always used to make these when you’re bored.” Kyuhyun neatly inserted the manuscript in his folder. 

“Force of habit, hyung.” He smiled back.

During the latter part of his lessons with Kyuhyun, he’s formed the habit of creating music when bored. He would fill manuscript after manuscript with notes while softly humming in the air. Once he was done with a sheet, he would always to give it to Kyuhyun and the latter would play it with him to see if it was any good. Most of them were fine, some were generic, some needed more work. But there were times when he would create great melodies even Kyuhyun hasn’t even heard of yet.

Kyuhyun had to cut their conversation short as students for the next class were starting to enter. He shooed Jihoon promising that they were going to play his manuscripts when they find free time.

“Did Donghae-hyung tell you about dinner yet?” He said as Jihoon was leaving.

Jihoon tried to recall but nothing about dinner came up, “I don’t think so,” He shrugged.

He was curious about what Kyuhyun was talking about so he sent a message to his brother while they were making their way out of the building. As they were walking, he couldn’t help but notice the shift in Jisoo’s mood. His happy disposition was now replaced by what looks like nervousness, and a tinge of annoyance. Whatever it is that he was reading from his phone, it wasn’t good news.

“What happened?” Jihoon asked. 

“What do you mean?” Jisoo snapped out of his current mood.

“It looks like you wanted to melt that phone with how hard you were staring at it,” he pointed out. Jisoo chuckled and kept his phone on his pocket.

“Jeonghan texted. He said our friend was back,” he sighed.

“Wow. Some friend that was if you’re acting that way.” The comment was dripping with sarcasm. 

“Let’s just say we were together a lot in the past,” he smiled. Jihoon didn’t want to prod any further so he changed the topic. He told him about how a certain blonde got into his phone and messed up his morning. He also told him about how he got back at him by hiding his underwear in the cabinet under the sink. At least that brought up the older’s mood, even just a bit.

They met up with Wonwoo and Jeonghan at the lobby. He noticed how the couple distanced themselves with Jeonghan leading the other. Even though Jisoo was smiling, Jihoon felt that there was something behind that smile. The couple went ahead mentioning something about council obligations.

“Did you find the camera?”

“Yeah, thanks for telling us.” Jihoon remembered the incident with the camera. If it wasn’t for Wonwoo they wouldn’t have found out about it.

He was at the locker room for gym class that morning when he accidentally overheard the conversation between Soonyoung and someone else about the hidden video camera. 

“How does he even know that I’m having Vocals this morning,” Jihoon was curious because according to Wonwoo, students’ personal schedules aren’t handed out to just anybody. Schedules can only be accessed through the school’s system.

Wonwoo had a sudden realization when he recalled the camera and the issue on Jihoon’s schedule, “This is Lee Chan’s work.”

“Who is this Lee Chan? I also heard Jeonghan mention his name when they saw the camera,”

“Chan is one of Soonyoung’s friends.”

Lee Chan is quite known around the Academy for being its youngest student. Despite being two years younger than regular freshmen, he is known by the students as one of Pledis’ best hackers. Even Wonwoo had to admit that gathering data about this student proved a challenge because his files were guarded with layers upon layers of security.

“He has a lot of interesting friends,” Jihoon was pensive. He mentioned about meeting Seokmin and Seungkwan in his earlier class.

“They’re an entertaining bunch,” Wonwoo remarked, “and you’ll definitely be seeing more of them soon.” 

The four boys entered the cafeteria and separated to buy their lunch. While he was walking towards the counter to pay, he felt that someone was staring at him from behind. True enough, when he turned around, he saw a mop of blonde hair and piercing eyes staring straight at him.

Instead of looking away, Jihoon walked towards where the blonde and his group were seated and sat at the table directly across them, not breaking eye contact. Aside from his two classmates who waved at him when he passed by, he saw two other familiar faces in the group. One was at the right, next to Seokmin; and the other at the left, sitting next to Seungkwan. He remembers them as the two students who were with Soonyoung when they literally bumped into each other for the first time. He also saw another boy, who was at Soonyoung’s left, who looks tall even while sitting down, he thinks that he might be even taller than Wonwoo. The five boys were chatting with each other while Soonyoung was in the middle, glaring at him.

Jihoon broke eye contact when Wonwoo got to their table, ending their little staring match. The tall boy in Soonyoung’s table enthusiastically waved their table and ended up choking on his food. Making his friends and even Wonwoo laugh. The couple soon found their table and sat down with them.

“So, you’ve already met Seungkwan and Seokmin,” Jisoo said as they were eating. 

“The small kid on the right is Channie,” Jeonghan added. Jihoon was finally able to put a face on the mysterious Lee Chan. He remembered that he was with Soonyoung during their first encounter. He was literally a kid; scrawny build, hair gelled to weirdness, and a face that screams innocent. He cannot believe someone who looks that harmless can hack into their school system or install hidden cameras.

“The one who looks like a foreigner is Hansol,” Jisoo said, gesturing towards the boy sitting next to Seungkwan. “He looks like a foreigner but he actually grew up here in Korea.” Jihoon has already been seeing the boy around campus as his face wasn’t hard to miss. He also didn’t miss how close he was to Seungkwan as he was draped over him while watching something on his phone.

“And the tall guy is Wonwoo’s boyfriend,” Jeonghan teased. Wonwoo almost choked on his drink.

“He is not my boyfriend,” The taller glared at the long-haired student but a tinge of blush was starting to fill the tips of his ears.

“Not yet, at least,” Jisoo added, chuckling.

“I didn’t even know you liked boys,” Jihoon said. He was surprised that Wonwoo was even into boys, or into anyone for that matter. “Does this not-yet-boyfriend have a name?” he teased the taller.

“His name is Kim Mingyu,” Wonwoo sighed, still denying any relationship with the other. “All I know about him is that he’s a freshman and he was probably the one who glued your underwear on the ceiling the other day.” He took a huge bite out of his burger to have an excuse to stop talking.

Jihoon noted Mingyu’s face for when he exacts his revenge for that little prank. But he was too busy not believing that Wonwoo had nothing on the guy. In the one week that he has been friends with Wonwoo, he couldn’t believe that he did not know anything about anyone. Especially with how his friend usually had tabs on everyone that mattered in the school, and sometimes even those who didn’t. He also remembered a few days ago, when Wonwoo showed him his laptop. There was a folder named “gyu” set on the corner of his desktop.

He only gave him a hum and a smile as a response but Wonwoo knows that the topic was far from over. For the meantime, Jihoon dug into his sub. He hasn’t eaten anything all day all thanks to a certain blonde.

“He’s staring at you, Jihoon,” Wonwoo said as they were eating. He was slightly weirded out of the fact that Soonyoung was eating while glaring at Jihoon.

“Let him stare until his eyes pop,” Jihoon, on the other hand, was trying to eat his meal in peace. But peace only lasted for a few seconds when he made a mistake of looking across and their eyes met once again. This time, Jihoon threw a little wink and finger guns towards the blonde haired boy. What he didn’t expect was for Soonyoung to spit and choke on what he was drinking. He couldn’t stop himself from laughing out loud at the spectacle before him.

“Ah, he’s on his way,” Jeonghan suddenly said.

“Who?”

“His ex-boyfriend,” Jisoo answered.

“Our ex-boyfriend,” the long-haired student corrected. Jihoon was slightly surprised but didn’t show it. In the end whoever they date had nothing to do with him.

While everyone was busy eating, Jeonghan suddenly shouted and excitedly waved his hands. Jisoo turned his head around so hard Jihoon swore he heard a snapping sound. He continued eating amidst the commotion caused by the class president because he hasn’t had anything to eat since this morning and if anyone tried to bother him, she was going to seriously rip their heads off. 

“Jihoon-ah,” Jeonghan pokes him on the side and he decides that Jeonghan was an exception. He’s too pretty to get his head ripped off.

“I want you to meet Choi Seungcheol.”

“Nice to meet you,” He looked up from his lunch to see a tall, broad shouldered man, wearing a bright smile aimed at him.

“I’m Choi Seungcheol.” He held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Lee Jihoon,” His eyes widened momentarily when their eyes met. His stomach decided to do somersaults and he felt like he was going to be sick. Still, he awkwardly returned the gesture.

“Same.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! your comments and kudos will always make me feel fluffy and warm.
> 
> Ciao,
> 
> -Akira ♥

**Author's Note:**

> I highly appreciate critique so comment away! :D 
> 
> Flames, not as much.


End file.
